Canadian documentary explores troubled waters
Is the Crown at war with Canadian First Nations people? asks filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
PREVIEW
IS THE CROWN AT WAR WITH US?
Written and directed by Alanis Obomsawin
Calgary International Film Festival
Friday, October 4
Uptown Screen
For documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, capturing the events off the shore of Nova Scotia’s Miramichi Bay during the summer of 2000 was a very different experience than her award-winning efforts involving the Oka crisis. But the emotions were very much the same.
"You just feel overwhelmed with sadness." she says. "I thought to myself, ‘Here we go again.'"
Is the Crown at war with us? is an account of the Mi'kmaq people of Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church) and their conflict two years ago with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). In a battle that made national headlines, the Mi'kmaq were physically prevented from setting lobster traps by the DFO, RCMP and coast guard, even though the Supreme Court Of Canada, in a landmark 1993 decision, affirmed they could do so. The violent attacks on the community created a wave of both financial and emotional stress that still exists today.
"I made the film because I’d been working with the Mi'kmaq people for a long time, since 1981," explains Obomsawin, noting her concern for future generations. "It’s very scary. The atmosphere there is fear."
"For me... I’m hoping the film will make people, in general, understand why we are where we are. This is history. We’re living our own history."
Is the Crown at war with us? rolls out footage that you’ll likely never see Peter Mansbridge cue up, including that of tiny fishing vessels being bullied, rammed and, in one case, run right over. Although the images should be rather damning to those responsible, Obomsawin can’t help but laugh in disbelief at the outcome.
"After the investigation, the RCMP said in court that there was no wrongdoing on behalf of the DFO. The ramming was accidental, due to something wrong with their boats. Unbelievable."
While critics will likely label her work as a one-sided defence of the Mi’kmaq position and little else, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort on Obomsawin’s part.
"I was very much after the DFO. I tried (to get interviews) when I was there, I tried afterwards, I phoned. They have their PR people, and they’re so," she sighs, "leery."
Or perhaps Obomsawin's reputation had them hitting the mute button. After churning out more than 20 uncompromising documentaries on issues affecting Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, including the much heralded 1993 feature Kanehsatake: 270 Years Of Resistance, Obomsawin continues to find fresh ways to state her case. Is the Crown at war with us? is especially absorbing, not only for the director’s trademark passion for the issues, but also for her attention to presentation. Miramichi Bay is one of the Great White North’s picturesque jewels, and she takes full advantage of that with her cinematography.
"It’s important to show not just the turmoil, but the beauty," Obomsawin says.
Admitting that the best compliment she could ever receive for a project such as this would be for audiences to realize the injustice that has been done, the filmmaker is surprisingly optimistic that Canada’s First Nations will eventually have a place and be respected.
"I think it’ll change. Probably not in my lifetime, but yes… if I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t continue to do what I do." |
